I will probably get the business, but I do not give my dogs heartworm meds nor do I get them tested, unless I am going down south with them. In our county there are about 10-15 cases a year, out of hundreds of thousands of dogs. It just is not worth the five hundred dollars or so a year I would pay for tests and frontline. Also, I do not believe in medicating my dogs unless they are sick. Now that I have said this, I will probably get struck down with heartworms

Katrina I PM-d you about Petco.I decided to go there with Vaccines and Heartworm test since my vet asking 50$ for only office visit....Vaccine was arround 50$ = 6 in 1 + Rabbies, the heartworm test 24$, 1 year meds 78$ Interceptor.I'm tired to pay my vet "new car"......If we have emergency,then I go there.

Ellie----------------------------------------"Winners aren't born...they're made.And they're made just like anything else...through hard work.That's the price we'll have to pay to achive that goal."

cheekymunkee wrote:I agree!! You need to find a new vet! That is outrageous. How much Frontline is that? If it is years worth that isn't too bad of a price.

No, it's 6 mos worth....and I give it the whole year, so that would be $187.20 per year for 1 dog!!!

I guess I didn't realize how expensive it was until all of you started telling me....

Granted, I live in DC...it's expensive to live here, in general...but my vet is not rated as one of the "best of Washington." I mean, if I went to the premiere animal hospital in this area, I still wouldn't pay that much....

It's time to change vets....

Why don't you do what alot of people do.. I get my frontline off the internet. I got 3months supply for 2 dogs for 60 bucks.. I also get my vet to write out a heart worm med. prescription and agagin i paid 60bucks for 2 dogs for 6months supply..

My vet charges like 27 dollars for heart worm test, but mine get it every 6weeks at a place where they donate blood for free....

olympianAB wrote:Why don't you do what alot of people do.. I get my frontline off the internet. I got 3months supply for 2 dogs for 60 bucks.. I also get my vet to write out a heart worm med. prescription and agagin i paid 60bucks for 2 dogs for 6months supply..

My vet charges like 27 dollars for heart worm test, but mine get it every 6weeks at a place where they donate blood for free....

Becky, I thought about doing that, but my pet insurance (yes, I have insurance for my dogs) won't cover it b/c they need a vet's signature, etc....

ellie@ny wrote:Katrina I PM-d you about Petco.I decided to go there with Vaccines and Heartworm test since my vet asking 50$ for only office visit....Vaccine was arround 50$ = 6 in 1 + Rabbies, the heartworm test 24$, 1 year meds 78$ Interceptor.I'm tired to pay my vet "new car"......If we have emergency,then I go there.

Oops...sorry...apparently your PM notice went into my junk mail folder (as does everything from pit bull talk)...I just checked my messages, and there you were (and there was a message in my junk email folder). Since it's a licensed vet, I might do that...they are able to sign the "pet insurance" forms for me.

I also might just start doing home vaccinations for them. The vaccinations are super cheap...then I'd only have to get the rabies done by a professional...and there are some counties in this area (not mine, but others that are close) that do it for free...I need only the certificate to register them in my county....

dogcrazyjen wrote:I will probably get the business, but I do not give my dogs heartworm meds nor do I get them tested, unless I am going down south with them. In our county there are about 10-15 cases a year, out of hundreds of thousands of dogs. It just is not worth the five hundred dollars or so a year I would pay for tests and frontline. Also, I do not believe in medicating my dogs unless they are sick. Now that I have said this, I will probably get struck down with heartworms

I won't get on your case about it, but I'll say that heartworm, fleas, and Lyme are rampant in this area....Also, because we do the tracking/search & rescue training, we're in the woods alot...I pull, on average, 3-4 ticks a month....

dogcrazyjen wrote:I will probably get the business, but I do not give my dogs heartworm meds nor do I get them tested, unless I am going down south with them. In our county there are about 10-15 cases a year, out of hundreds of thousands of dogs. It just is not worth the five hundred dollars or so a year I would pay for tests and frontline. Also, I do not believe in medicating my dogs unless they are sick. Now that I have said this, I will probably get struck down with heartworms

So your dogs could have large loads of heartworms and you wouldn't know it, not until they start dying of congestive heart failure. What makes you think they don't have them?

There may be 10 or 15 cases of the dogs that are tested. Could be 20 times that in dogs - like yours - who are not tested.

I don't use flea or tick preventative either. I only treat for fleas if I see them. But fleas won't kill your dog, or cost 1200$ to treat, the way heartworms do.

If you need to treat your dogs and see their suffering and the beating your bank account will take, you'll bitterly regret skipping the heartworm meds.

My vet had a heartworm clinic today. We were charged $32 for the test, and for an additional $10 for a bloodscreen. What was great about this was there was no office visit charge.
And on the fun side, two adults and four canines cruised 25 miles to the vet clinic in a CRV!

odnarb wrote:Vaccinating dogs at home is fine, too. But, you can't buy the Distemper-Hepatitis-Parvo vaccine that is licensed for 3 years over the counter. Why vaccinate yearly if you don't have to?

Well, you can get it...the vet just has to write a prescription for it. That's how many breeders get it...

I've done the math, and it ends up being cheaper to do it at home...at least with my vet....

If ANY place is carrying the 3 year DAP vaccine outside of a veterinary office, I would be VERY suspect, as they did not obtain it through ethical channels. Actually, the same goes for heartworm preventative and Advantage & Frontline, as well.

Something to always think about, is that
these discount houses are not supposed to have these products. They
are sold only to veterinarians by the manufacturer. Which means, these
products were either obtained from unethical veterinarians raking in
the dough, or it is counterfeit product. I've seen both.

This means, the manufacturer does NOT guarantee these products at all.
If they don't work, you are screwed. If they make your pet sick,
injure, or kill them, only you are liable.

I have seen the fake products dispensed at the real thing. I've also
seen pets over or under dosed with drugs from these discount houses as
well, because there is no quality control. Several of them (including
the biggie that advertises on TV every five minutes) have been fined
by pharmacy boards for dispensing drugs without prescriptions. They
have also in the past employed crooked vets (who NEVER see the pet
that is often in another state) to write prescriptions for drugs that
have been denied by the veterinarian that actually HAS examined the
pet and knows its medical condition. Some of these discount houses
aren't licensed pharmacies at all, but a guy named Frank illegally
selling drugs over the internet from his basement.

If you still want to buy from them, that's fine. But, know the facts
first. And make SURE they are a licensed pharmacy in your state. I've
gotten hung up on MANY times when I ask THAT difficult question!

olympianAB wrote:Why don't you do what alot of people do.. I get my frontline off the internet. I got 3months supply for 2 dogs for 60 bucks.. I also get my vet to write out a heart worm med. prescription and agagin i paid 60bucks for 2 dogs for 6months supply..

My vet charges like 27 dollars for heart worm test, but mine get it every 6weeks at a place where they donate blood for free....

Becky, I thought about doing that, but my pet insurance (yes, I have insurance for my dogs) won't cover it b/c they need a vet's signature, etc....

[.

hey i'm on a pet prescription 2..my vet writes up a prescription that i sent to an online place..for alot cheaper, and it's covered stil.. and Frontline Plus doesn't need a prescription..

They come from the same trays, the same bottles. They do not say "good for 1 year, good for 3 years" they are the same exact vaccine.

In the case of rabies:
The law is that you get a one year rabies. Then if you get the rabies vaccine boostered within 3 months to 3 days of the due date then it's good for 3 years. It is not anymore or less of the vaccine, nor is it different.
The theory behind it is that you are keeping their antibodies up and running and they are good for three years.

Wally gets vaccinated only for rabies. Nothing else ever again. He gets titers done to check his levels but he should be fine for life.

Think about when humans get vaccinated, do we do it every single year? Nope. Do we even do it every 3 years? Nope. Just when we're little, which is when our immune system is easily compromised.

But we are over-vaccinating ourselves and our animals in general. There are studies out there linking the incidence of ADD and ADHD in kids to over-vaccination, imagine what over-vaccination is doing to our animals? I truly believe that as a society we would have a much healthier bunch of animals if they were vaccinated less (in addition to being fed correctly of course).

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." -Anatole France